The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for remotely controlling a document output device, such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction printer/fax/copier machine over a communications network. Such control may include requesting and receiving the status of a document output device or controlling a software function of the document output device. Firmware and software updates may also be provided to a document output device in accordance with the present invention.
It is well known to obtain status reports from copiers (e.g., a copy count) remotely over the Internet, a cellular telephone network, and/or a paging network. Various devices may be installed in the copier to determine the number of copies made by the copier. This copy count may then be periodically sent from the copier over the Internet, cellular or paging networks to a remote location, such as the entity leasing or servicing the copier.
It would be advantageous to provide a simple and efficient control mechanism for a document output device, which includes the capability to transmit device status, control software functions, and allow for software or firmware upgrades. In addition to the need for efficiency and ease of use is the need for security when remotely controlling printers, fax machines and copiers which are connected to a network.
Early in the life of the Internet, the need for securing an organization's local network from tampering, stealing, or vandalism by outsiders became very obvious. A type of gateway called a firewall was developed to meet this need. The firewall is designed to be a single, well-controlled access point between the outside, global, or wide-area network and the inside, local-area network. By carefully restricting the types of network traffic and the destinations where that traffic can flow, the firewall can provide effective protection.
Specific “holes” in the firewall are created for each type of traffic that is allowed through the gateway in each direction. Most organizations, for example, allow e-mail traffic in and out from their e-mail server, as well as web page client access from inside the firewall to servers located outside of it.
Many types of access between machines commonly used on a local network are normally prevented from going through the firewall. Specifically, file sharing, remote log-in, printing, and various other network-administration types of protocols are typically not allowed to be transported outside the firewall.
Another aspect of the firewall is that it is almost always administratively controlled by a centralized authority for the organization that owns the local area network—commonly the management information services (MIS) department of a company. Normal users generally have to make special requests that are approved at the upper levels of management to get configuration changes in the firewall. In the interest of maintaining security, these changes are often limited to specific point-to-point exceptions or “holes” in the firewall.
It is desirable by many to be able to send control requests from a machine (client device) on one local area network to a document output device located on a different local area network with the data being transferred over a global network (e.g., the Internet) outside of the firewall of both local networks.
The current mechanisms for remotely obtaining the status of a copier does provide solutions for this problem. However, almost all of these solutions require the intervention of the firewall administrator.
It would be further advantageous to have a solution that allows secure, efficient and easy-to-configure inter-network control of a document output device through a gateway firewall without the intervention of the network administrator.
The methods and apparatus of the present invention provide the foregoing and other advantages.